Day 2: The Laptop is Back!

February 9, 2006

So, the last night did not end without adventure. While celebrating the
good beginning of the trip, our little laptop also got a sip of the fine
Californian Cabernet and passed out instantaneously. Must admit, we
had no backup plan for this kind of incident. No computer means no daily
updates and no pictures.
Of course, we immediately applied all emergency measures we could think
of: from taking the little puppy apart and using the hair dryer to blow
out the wine to washing it in warm clean water to make sure the red wine
didn't leave any stains (just kidding). Nothing helped. Our laptop was flat
lining. Having almost lost all hopes to somehow get it "sober",
we placed it on the dashboard of our car under direct sunlight, as we continued
driving. And MIRACLES HAPPEN! After a day of sunbathing, the puppy
was back up and running!

Farther south, the scenery became very much like the deserts of Arizona.
Endless fields of gigantic cacti all around (only more and much bigger than
those in Arizona). The noteworthy event of the day was our first off-roading
experience. The AAA guide wasn't exaggerating: Mex 1 is a very narrow road
with either none or very steep and sandy shoulders. As we parked on one
of them for a picture of the oversized cacti, an error in judgment nearly
left our Nissan lying on a side. The inclination of the shoulder was probably
close to 40 degrees, and our options were rather limited: either to slide
deeper into the ditch, or possibly even tip onto the side. Thanks to the
4WD, our first off-roading attempt had a happy ending. Luckily, we hadn't
decided to take our old Honda Civic to this trip We promise to be
more careful next time we get off the road.

Late in the afternoon, we left the main road for some whale watching in
Laguna Ojo de Liebre (6 miles south, 18 miles west from Guererro Negro)
where gray whales from Alaska come to spend the winter season. Already from
the shore one could tell that the lagoon was full of happy whales: their
fountains were popping up all over the place. Unfortunately, we were told
that the whales do not accept visitors after 4PM (the last boat leaves at
4 o'clock) and that we'd have to come back next day at 8AM. Yet, we were
very welcome to camp for free on the beach till the next morning. Windy
and rocky beach, without one human soul or a can of cold beer within a 20-mile
radius.. So we skipped the offer and continued south.

"Baja Oasis" motel in San Ingacio was our home for the second night.
Very basic, not the cleanest possible and overprice for the offer. We got
a room with a view to an old broken fridge and several other rotten
housewares :) The very last thing it reminded us of was an oasis